Presenting Relaia, a Spin-off of the University of Bologna Promoting Smarter, More Participatory Cities

Relaia Società Benefit is a new spin-off of the University of Bologna, established to develop solutions for the participatory management of smart cities by means of a cutting-edge technological approach that focuses on social impact.

The founding team consists of researcher Andrea Cattabriga, who will take on the role of CEO and CTO, and professors Michele Zanoni and Flaviano Celaschi. Members include Behold, a holding company controlled by the University of Bologna that manages participation in the University's spin-offs created with a view to bringing university research results to the market.

But what is Relaia's mission? To define innovative solutions supporting complex decisions at scale, particularly in the area of urban digital infrastructure (based on the smart city and digital twin paradigms). Its technologies aim to give the community a voice in terms of city planning and management processes, responding to a central challenge for public administrations: that of reconciling speed of action with participatory engagement, also in light of current regulatory requirements.

Relaia's innovation lies in the original Systemic Relational Insights framework, combining qualitative, quantitative and scientific data. The technology adopted harnesses data from digital and physical participation flows to feed digital twins and create advanced dashboards fundamental for managing smart cities. This technology, which offers concrete, AI Act-compliant tools, is extremely versatile and therefore suitable for many application areas, including non-public ones.

With the introduction of Relaia, the number of Behold spin-offs rises to sixteen: a rich and varied portfolio of deep-tech entrepreneurial projects born in the University's laboratories, touching on areas that range from manufacturing and aerospace to psychology, environmental sustainability and even life sciences, with diagnostic approaches and medical devices.